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Celebrity Summit 10 years later

Sail Date:
April 2012

Destination:
Southern Caribbean

Embarkation:
San Juan

The Celebrity Summit has changed some since we were on it 10 years ago but all of the changes that I saw was for the positive. This review may get a little long winded but I wanted to address as much as I could to inform all people interested.

We left the port of San Juan on April 21st and it was probably the easiest it has ever been getting on the ship. My wife and I boarded at about 2pm and got to explore the ship to see what differences there were from 10 years ago when we were on it for our honeymoon. Other than new carpeting and a couple added restaurants it looked quite similar. For the evening prior we stayed at the Marriott Stellaris Casino Hotel in the Condado area and that is a great area to stay. Will definitely stay there again.

Our first port was St. Croix. When we booked the cruise I thought St. Croix was a unique choice for a port and I still believe that. It seemed that the main excursions consisted of driving to a town 15 to 20 minutes away to More
shop. The town of Frederikstad is nothing overly special. The people are quite friendly but it was evident that things seemed to be going downhill a touch economically with the economy. We later found out that the oil refinery that was there had closed and that employed a tremendous percentage of the island. We did go snorkeling just to the left of the pier and fort and it was quite good. There are also a couple good local beach beers to go to.

Port #2 was St. Kitts. We visited there 10 years ago and we were not overly impressed. The exact opposite can be said now. The cruise area is wonderful with shops, bars, music, etc.... The town itself is fun to walk around. There is a lot of history there. For that day we went to a beach just down from a resort (NOT FRIGATE BAY) and it was ok. The water was a bit rough and the snorkeling was not very good. There was a bar there called SHIPWRECK that had good food and drinks and the monkeys and mongoose roamed wild in the hill right next to it. That provided for fun pictures.

Port #3 was Dominica. I was very excited to see this island as I had read so many interesting things about it. Unfortunately I was a little disappointed. After 15 minutes ashore and getting absolutely harrassed by taxi and tour people we decided to do a last minute excursion to TRAFALGAR FALLS and CHAMPAGNE REEF. Both TRAFALGAR FALLS and CHAMPAGNE REEF are beautiful and worth every penny. The island itself may very well be the most beautiful in the Caribbean, but in the sewer drains and in the street was a lot of trash. That was sad to see. It appeared to me to be well on its way to full fledged third world country. Our tour guide indicated that unemployment was 25% and people were fleeing the island to go to neighboring islands such as Martinique for work. The town of Roseau was also disappointing.

Port #4 was Grenada and wow were we impressed. The people were very friendly and probably the most friendly that we have met in the Caribbean. We spent the day walking the market (COMPLETELY WORTH IT), going to the FORTS in town and going to GRAND ANSE BEACH. All of it was tremendous. It was my favorite day of the cruise.

Port #5 was St. Thomas and they had CARNIVAL going on there. We visited that and shopped for a bit. Best deals for liquor are at KMART for sure and it is within walking distance of the port area. Rum is $2-$3 cheaper than anywhere else.

As for the ship itself and things I had heard prior to and even after. I read a post recently on this board that indicated the customer service was lacking. NOTHING could be further from the truth. The only way that can even be thought is if somebody is so high maintenance they are never happy. Also, I heard on our flight from San Juan to Tampa that somebody thought the shower was too small and they had to go to the Spa to shower. I am not sure what the expectation of a shower is, but in our Concierge Class room it was just fine. I heard some things about the food as well, and the food was very good in my opinion. I did not have any complaints about any of the food. QSINE is well worth every nickel. I would have paid double for the food and experience.

As for Disembarkation it was without a doubt the easiest and smoothest of any cruise I have ever been on. We were literally off the boat and in the airport terminal within 45 minutes. I had heard if you had a flight before noon that there was not a chance of making it and we were at the airport by 8:45. It was awesome.

NITPICKS or COMPLAINTS I could make: The shower head had a little rust around it. About a minute of work and that would be repaired. It seemed difficult to get a drink while we were in port other than Iced Tea or Juice. Everything was basically shut down while in port but I understand that.

OVERALL: Great cruise, fun time. Not really much to complain about. The ports were unique and I got to see places I have not seen before. I will for sure do Celebrity again. Less

The area around the cruise terminal is awesome. Very pretty island. Good town to walk around and take pictures as well. We went to a beach past FRIGATE BAY and would recommend going to FRIGATE BAY instead. I listened to the local cab driver too much.